Least-costly upgrade route?

[mitchcohen]

I have an education client with 12 copies of FMP 5.5, mixed Mac and PC. One copy resides on a server (but is FMP 5.5 Client), serving four very light-use database files. The other 11 users launch FMP once or twice a day, connect to the server through FMP's built-in database sharing, update a few things and quit out. Users never create new layouts, add fields, or anything else of significance. Add records, update records, and print - that's it. I don't think the database has been otherwise modified in 2-3 years.

The server has been upgraded to OS X, and users are having problems reaching the server, something many others have experienced. The solution is to upgrade to FMP 7, which is a somewhat costly endeavor. We wanted to avoid the upgrade since the features of FMP7 aren't really needed here, but we do need the stability so up we go.

What is the least-costly upgrade route? Can FMP Developer be deployed to share a hosted file? Is FMP licensed on a per-seat or concurrent use basis?

Many thanks.

[Ender]

I think it might be worthwhile for you to troubleshoot the stability problems you have in your current setup. Or even purchase Server 5.5 to be your host. This would be cheaper than upgrading to 7.

Things to know for upgrading: FM7 Client can only host 5 concurrent clients, so you may have to upgrade to Server 7 in addition to FM7 for each client. (Developer would not help you here, as its hosting limit is the same as Client.) I think FileMaker Inc. was offering some sort of package deal for Server 7 and some Client 7 licenses; you can talk to a FMI sales rep for details.

[Ender]

Also, for education clients, the volume licensing pricing is much cheaper than retail. You can download the volume licensing pricing sheet from filemaker.com, or talk to a sales rep.

[stanley]

Mitch:

I agree with Ender; you should look into your stability issues because up to now it sounds like it's worked fine for you, and the upgrade to 7 can turn a little tricky. When you say that users are "having problems reaching the server", is this just within FMP, or do the problems extend to, say, a user pinging the server? More details regarding what's happening would be helpful.

On your server:

Make sure you've got the latest version of the operating system (10.3.7, I believe), and the latest update to FMS.

Make sure the server's static IP information is 100% correct, and that all other networking is set up correctly.

-Stanley

[mitchcohen]

Thanks for the info.

The problem is that once the FMP 5.5 host was upgraded (G4 with OS 9 to G5 with OS X), users received disconnects (3259 error, I believe). When this began I did some searching, and found many other users with the same problem based on the same circumstance, with no solution other than to upgrade to FMP 7. [There is no FMP Server here - all the client versions, which is fine for this deployment.]

The server and all Mac clients are on 10.3.7. The FMP 5.5 is updated all around. The server is stable, serving files and other functions without difficulty. This is strictly a FMP issue.

Our temporary workaround has been to use an old client machine with OS 9 as the FMP server, but that isn't a long-term option.

[Reed]

The server and all Mac clients are on 10.3.7. The FMP 5.5 is updated all around. The server is stable, serving files and other functions without difficulty. This is strictly a FMP issue.

If you're using your host machine to also do other things, especially file sharing, this could be a problem. You should never use file sharing on volumes that are used to host filemaker DBs.

I was using fmp 5.5 on 10.2.8 before I upgraded to 7. I had no problems back then (although it wasn't on 10.3.7) Now I'm on 10.3.7 with fmp 7v3 acting as a host to a mixed group of win and mac clients with IWP serving as well.

Anyone want to donate some cash for me to get server advanced